5 Reasons You Never Got That Job In High School

There comes an awkward period in high school where as a child you become too expensive for anyone to pay for. Allowance is not cutting it, your parents won’t pay for your gas money and you don't have enough to hang out with your friends. This usually means that it’s time to get a job. Unfortunately, in high school it seems like an almost impossible feat. Here are some basic reasons your efforts may fail and solutions to those problems.

1. You’re too young.
This is heard most often if your under the age of 18 and more specifically 16 and under. You may be old enough to drive but under most company laws employees under the age of 18 are legally prohibited from even looking at a cash register. MY advice: save yourself the time and effort by asking the hiring manager the age limit before you grab an application 

2. You have no work experience. 
This one has to be the most frustrating reason to be denied a job! How can you possibly get job experience if no one will hire you in the first place? I was not aware that I needed previous experience folding clothes or warming up pre-cooked for to fold more clothes and warm up more pre-cooked food. The twisted reality is most highschoolers actually lie about that section of the application by putting down a common company under their job experience or a family business and listing a family member’s number under their employer contact. I recommend listing any volunteer work you have ever done. If that doesn’t get you anywhere than do what you have to do.

3. You don’t REALLY need it.
Employers have caught on to the fact that  most high school students only want money for gas and junk/fast food and if they no longer see an immediate need for the job or just don’t feel like showing up majority of them will just quite anyway. It is important to express a deep seeded need for work on the application, and to display a good work ethic. This means always showing up on time, staying late when necessary and PLEASE no excessive friend meet ups while you are working. 

4. You don't have a resume.
Oh this is bad...this is very bad. Your resume is basically your soul. It’s the only part of an application that really truly matters. You should NEVER skip the resume download section of an application, even if it SEEMS optional. If by some great chance in heaven you have managed to get hired without a resume you are either very lucky or your employer is very desperate. Do not count on your look to continue forever, make that resume ASAP! It shows a level of immaturity if a candidate cannot even invest the time in their application to create a resume. Creating a resume is actually a lot simpler than you would expect. You can look up some examples of resume templates and make one from scratch using Microsoft www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Resume-in-Microsoft-Word ordoo or use one of these websites:
www.theresumebuilder.com
www.resume.monster.com 
 livecareer.com

5. They are not hiring!
Yea that's right you CAN apply to a company that isn't even hiring! Odds are you're using an app or website such as Snag Job, Dapsity, Jobr or Glassdoor. All of these website are great job hunting utilities but they do have some faults. The website is not directly related to that particular jobs hiring manager and many companies never take down listings from those sites. You could believe you are applying for a summer job at Starbucks when in reality that position was filled in January. However, I am not trying to discourage you from using these job hunting tools but it is important that you do your own research and simply let these website's steer you in the right direction. NEVER send a generic 1-click application. ALWAYS go to the company’s website and use their application that is directly linked to their recruiting team or take it one step further and go apply in store! You would be surprised at the amount of stores who offer in-store applications! 
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Have more advice on getting a job in high school? Feel free to leave a comment or suggestion!